Animal Kingdom is Disney's newest park and opened in April 1998. With it's emphasis on nature and conservation it represents a completely different Disney experience. The park has a very relaxed atmosphere, elaborate theming and a lush tropical feel.
Disney has made a great success in combining animals, nature, conservation and thrill rides all in one wonderful package. The center piece of Animal Kingdom is the spectacular Tree of Life which is 145ft high, and covered in 325 animal carvings which represent the "Circle of Life" from lions to dolphins.
Animal Kingdom can get very crowded and it also seems to be a "hotter" park, so make the most of the earlier opening time. Animal Kingdom is split into 8 distinct areas.
Following a huge expansion plan on the 27th May 2017 the Animal Kingdom will debut it's brand new area "Pandora - The World of Avatar". Inspired by Academy-award winning filmmaker James Cameron's box-office hit, "AVATAR," the new 12-acre land will immerse guests in the lush world of Pandora about a generation after the film's human-Na'vi conflict. The magical new land will transport guests to a mystical world of bioluminescent rainforests, floating mountains and soaring Banshees. Two main adventures will beckon Disney's Animal Kingdom guests, riding a magnificent Mountain Banshee, you will soar across Pandora on Avatar Flight of Passage. This high-tech adventure will offer a thrilling flight through the jungles and floating mountains, and over the majestic oceans of this colourful world. On the family-friendly Na'vi River Journey you will sail down a sacred river hidden within a glowing rainforest. The expedition will end in an unforgettable encounter with a Na'vi Shaman, a figure who has a deep connection to the life force of Pandora.
Guests will also be able to dine at Satu'li Canteen, grab a drink at Pongu Pongu or shop for Na'vi cultural items, toys, science kits, and more at Windtraders.
The signs for Animal Kingdom are well laid out and you can follow these from the US-192 or I-4 to the Animal Kingdom Toll Plaza where you can purchase a Car Park ticket. Once past the Toll Plaza you will soon be at the Car Parks. You will be directed by the CM's as to where to park.
Make a note of where you parked, these car parks are vast and it's easy to forget where you left your vehicle.
You can either walk to the entrance or wait for one of the Trams, this will depend on where you are parked.
Once at the entrance you can purchase tickets if you do not already have them, if you do you can head straight for the turnstiles.
DIBB Tip:
Lockers
There are Guest Lockers available to secure your items located just outside of the park entrance and on the inside of the park near to the Rain Forest Cafe
Attractions
There is a very wide choice of attractions to entertain everyone.
For details on the main attractions please select an item from the Animal Kingdom Menu on the left
Dining
There is a very wide array of dining experiences available in the park. These range from snack food to full restaurant dining.
For details of the main dining facilities please click on the Dining Link from our Top Menu.
Shopping
There are lots of opportunities for you to spend your Dollars. This park has less shopping opportunities than the other parks but still has enough to lighten your pockets!
For more details on Shopping please click the Shopping link on the Top Menu.
Attractions & Entertainment
Pandora - The World of Avatar
Na'vi River Journey
AVATAR Flight of Passage
Satu'li Canteen
Pongu Pongu
Windtraders Shop
Oasis
The Oasis Exhibits
Rainforest Cafe
Garden Gate Gifts
Discovery Island
Wilderness Explorers
It's Tough to be a Bug!
Discovery Island Trails
Adventures Outpost
Isle of Java
Flame Tree Barbecue
Gardens Kiosk
Beastly Kiosk
Discovery Island Ice Cream
Pizzafari
Island Mercantile
Disney Outfitters
Africa
Kilimanjaro Safaris
Pangani Forest Exploration Trail
Wildlife Express Train
Festival of the Lion King
Dawa Bar
Tusker House Restaurant
Kusafari Coffee Shop & Bakery
Harambe Fruit Market
Tamu Tamu Refreshments
Mombasa Marketplace
Rafiki's Planet Watch
Wildlife Express Train
Habitat Habit!
Conservation Station
Affection Station
Asia
Flights of Wonder
Maharajah Jungle Trek
Kali River Rapids
Expedition Everest - Legend of the Forbidden Mountain
Bradley Falls
Mr Kamal's
Upcountry
Yak & Yeti Restaurant
Yak & Yeti Local Food Cafes
Anandapur Ice Cream Truck
Serka Zong Bazaar
DinoLand U.S.A.
The Boneyard
Fossil Fun Games
Finding Nemo - The Musical
Primeval Whirl
TriceraTop Spin
DINOSAUR
Restaurantosaurus
Dino-Bite Snacks
Trilo-Bites
Dino Diner
Chester & Hester's Dinosaur Treasures
The Dino Institute Shop
Tours
Explore the marvels of the Animal Kingdom with one of the Behind the Scenes Tours.
Backstage Safari - Take a backstage walking safari for an insider's look at the innovative ways that Disney's Animal Kingdom cares for its special inhabitants.
Wild by Design - Discover how Disney's creative wizards looked at a huge Florida swamp, envisioned it as an exotic and untamed wild animal wonderland and led the effort to turn that dream into Disney's Animal Kingdom Park.
Download and print the Magical Beginnings Park Maps specially designed for Guests with little ones!
In preparation for creating Disney’s Animal Kingdom, a core team of seven Walt Disney Imagineers, led by Creative Portfolio Executive Joe Rohde, crisscrossed the globe in search of the essential look of life in the wild. The team traveled more than 500,000 miles . . . a distance equal to circling the globe 20 times.
Ten artists and three Imagineers worked full-time for 18 months to create the 325 animal carvings on The Tree of Life. Sculptors had between six and 10 hours to create the finished image before the plaster hardened.
The Tree of Life is topped with more than 103,000 transparent, five-shades-of-green leaves that actually blow in the wind.
More than 4 million trees, plants, shrubs, vines, epiphytes, grasses and ground-coverings from every continent on Earth — except Antarctica — were planted.
There are some 850 species of trees, 2,000 species of shrubs, and 260 different types of grasses growing in Disney's Animal Kingdom.
There are 27 hidden Mickeys in the mural in the Animal Kingdom Conservation Station.
The iconic floating mountains in the Valley of Mo’ara – there are 22 – peak at about 130 feet above the valley floor.
A team of more than 60 artisans from the U.S., Peru, France, Portugal, Japan and Ireland contributed to creating the art-scape of the floating mountains on Pandora – The World of Avatar.
When creating Expedition Everest, Disney Imagineers went to great lengths to create an attraction rich in storytelling, authenticity and detail – even traveling to Nepal to research the region’s architecture and culture. Expedition Everest, towering at nearly 200 feet high and occupying a 6.2-acre site, takes guests on a race thru the Himalayan mountains on a speeding train. It is one of 18 mountain attractions created by Walt Disney Imagineering at Disney theme parks worldwide.
Animal Kingdom has about 1700 Animals, representing 250 species of which most were acquired from zoos accredited by the American Zoo and Aquarium Association
The rutted road on Kilimanjaro Safaris is part of the landscape design. The Walt Disney Imagineering design team matched concrete with the surrounding soil, then rolled tires through it, and tossed stones, dirt and twigs into it to create an appropriately bumpy experience duplicating a remote African road.
The Animal Nutrition Center at Disney’s Animal Kingdom provides the highest quality of animal nutrition as part of the veterinary services preventive health care program. The Animal Nutrition team prepares more than 1,500 individual or group diets daily and delivers more than 10,000 pounds of food to the animals at Disney’s Animal Kingdom and Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge daily.
Walt Disney’s love of animals began when he was four years old and his family moved from his Chicago birthplace to a 45-acre farm in Marceline, Mo. There he helped take care of farm animals, and learned to draw pictures of his animal friends.
The first birth at Disney’s Animal Kingdom was a kudu, a large African antelope.
Nearly 40 Guam kingfisher chicks have hatched at Disney’s Animal Kingdom, significantly raising the world population of these birds. Currently, there are 145 of these birds in the world.
Disney’s Animal Kingdom is home to one of the leading zoo hospitals in North America, with an emphasis on advanced imaging, digital radiology, ultrasound and endoscopy. Disney’s Animal Kingdom is one of only two animal hospitals in U.S. zoos with computed tomography (CT) scanners on the premises. This has increased the team’s ability to quickly diagnose and treat animals at the hospital.
Since 1995, the Disney Conservation Fund has directed more than $70 million to 600 nonprofit organizations working with communities to reverse the decline of wildlife in more than half the countries in the world.